Selective determination of nitrite/nitrate based on photo-induced redox activity of titanium dioxide.

Given its unique photocatalytic and structural properties, titanium dioxide was used as a sensitizer for the quantification of nitrite and nitrate contents by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet/nano-titanium dioxide photo-induced chemiluminescence detection. The photo-induced chemiluminescence signal was enhanced after the introduction of titanium dioxide. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, as a positive hole scavenger, considerably improved the signal. The peak area of the chemiluminescence signal was enhanced 85 times after ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid was added to 1 × 10-6  mol/L of nitrite. The detection limits of nitrite and nitrate were 9.0 × 10-9 and 1.4 × 10-7  mol/L, respectively. Our method was applied for the determination of nitrite and nitrate contents in water samples. In contrast to other methods, our method is simple and environmentally friendly and enables the simultaneous determination of nitrite and nitrate.